Children's home run by Clover Childcare Services Limited in North Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 1 SC424897 Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 7 children. The home offers therapeutic care to children with complex health needs and children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties. Children may have a history of insecure attachments and may have experienced the breakdown of numerous placements in foster care or children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider operates an on-site school, which is registered with the Department for Education. The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this setting.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 7 children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Outstanding 27/02/2024 Full Good 01/02/2023 Full Good 09/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 3

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outstanding

Three children have moved out and 4 children have moved into the home since the last inspection. Children benefit from exceptionally well-planned and executed moves into the home, regardless of the length of the transition.

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outstanding

The manager is tenacious in assessing if the staff can meet the needs of the child and in assessing any potential impact on children already living in the home. This assessment is thorough. It includes meetings with, or observations of, the child when appropriate and liaison with all the people involved in the child’s care. Children are supported very well to understand the move through the use of visual timetables. This helps to reassure children about what the move is going to look like for them.

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outstanding

The manager and staff’s planning and support for children’s moves into the home goes above and beyond and reflects their unwavering commitment to children. On one occasion, the manager provided intensive in-person outreach support, over a 2- day period, in the child’s previous foster home. This exceptional level of support has allowed the child to preserve a relationship with the foster carer and to have the opportunities to say goodbye. This prevented an emergency move and allowed both the child and the children living in the home to process the news of the move. The child’s social worker spoke incredibly highly of the support offered by the home. They said that their child ‘had landed somewhere that is fantastic’. On another occasion, the manager visited the child at school to get to know them. This helped the child, who could not previously be told about their move, be reassured that they had already met and played with the manager. Moves on from the home are similarly

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outstanding

excellently well planned whenever possible. When one child moved to another home in the company, the staff worked across both of the homes for a while. This ensured that when the child moved, they moved with familiar staff taking care of them. The flexibility of the staff during this move reflected their exceptional commitment to children.

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outstanding

Staff’s commitment to building and maintaining family relationships is exceptional. With the help and support from staff, one child has been able to see a parent for the first time in over 4 years. The staff and manager carefully planned the reintroduction of family for the child. The time spent with his parent was highly supported by staff and built up slowly. The manager arranged for the child and their parent to access the home’s therapeutic support to enable them to strengthen their relationship. The manager and the staff provided outreach support to the parent to help them develop their parenting skills. This included supporting during a caravan holiday.

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outstanding

The organisation’s therapeutic service has developed a research-based tool used to assess children’s readiness for family reunification. This tool was used to recommend a consideration for this child to move back home with family. The local authority said Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 4 that this information had contributed to a change in the local authority’s care plan for this child, with reunification now underway. One professional said, ‘You couldn’t have a better outcome for this child, and it is down to the home.’

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outstanding

Staff help children continue to make strong, and on occasions, outstanding progress. The manager advocates strongly to ensure that children’s health and wellbeing needs are thoroughly met. The manager has appropriately sought various health assessments for children. The manager has a very good knowledge of the special educational needs system, and this has resulted in a shorter wait for one child’s necessary assessments. This helps children achieve their potential at school.

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outstanding

Children’s hobbies are supported and encouraged. Children enjoy a wide range of high-quality activities, sporting clubs and trips. Staff make considerable effort to celebrate children’s birthdays and events. Many children have had numerous first experiences in the home, such as birthday parties, Halloween activities and holidays.

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outstanding

Inclusive practice is deeply embedded, and the manager and staff are strong advocates for children. For example, the manager asked the school to use sign language in their Christmas performance songs. They are also supporting the other children in the home to learn elements of sign language when they have shown a desire to.

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outstanding

Staff understand their pivotal role in keeping the vulnerable children safe. They understand the additional vulnerabilities that disabled children face and how to reduce these.

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outstanding

Before living in the home, a child was unaware of their medical diagnosis or what they were taking prescribed medication for. Staff have supported this child to understand their diagnosis and what this means for them. This has included conversations with staff and access to relevant, child-friendly resources. This new knowledge has enabled the child to have an understanding of the challenges that they face. As a result, the child has been able to verbalise their needs and develop their own regulation strategies. They are now able to regulate their emotions without the need for staff support. This helps them feel more emotionally safe and secure.

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outstanding

Children benefit from the therapeutic support available to help them understand their life story and begin to move forward. Some children have engaged in life-story work while others have had access to play therapy. All staff complete suitable training specific to the needs of the children that the home cares for.

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outstanding

The manager is innovative in ensuring that children’s voices are fully heard and that children are involved heavily in decisions that affect their care. The manager has been creative at helping children to understand the risks in the local area and how to keep themselves safe. Children took part in a walk with staff around the local area Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 5 where they were shown the risks around their home. Staff discussed the risks with the children, who then helped to contribute to the home’s mitigation strategies. The manager ensured that one nonspeaking child was able to participate through the use of Picture Exchange Communication Systems and Makaton. This child was able to sign ‘danger’ and identify things such as the road as dangerous. This high level of attention to detail helps to ensure that the younger children understand the risks around them should they ever find themselves without adult support.

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outstanding

Children are supported to learn to keep themselves and their bodies safe through the use of widely available child-friendly resources. Staff deliver this work in a way that is age and stage appropriate for all children. The staff helped children learn a song related to privacy, and this was also signed along by staff. This meant that the child who is nonspeaking was fully included.

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outstanding

Staff only use restraint when absolutely necessary to keep a child or others safe. They involve children in developing their behaviour support management plans. Children’s views are sought around how they would like staff to support them when they are having a difficult time. Staff talk to children and share child-friendly information with them on the home’s chosen model of restraint. Children are offered the opportunity to be shown what these may look like and feel like, why they may be used and when they may be used. Staff reassure the children that restraint will only be used as a last resort. Children are given the opportunity to identify which of the restraints they may find helps them to feel safest. This is all done in a very child- centred way, and children’s views are fed into their care plans. This ensures that children are aware of how staff may need to support them and contributes to reduced anxiety, fear or confusion for a child if a restraint is ever necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by an enthusiastic, committed and skilled registered manager. She leads by example and has exceedingly high expectations of staff practice. As a result, staff are highly ambitious for children, and they ensure that children receive bespoke child-centred care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager uses monitoring and review processes to ensure that she maintains exceptional oversight and understanding of the quality of care. These monitoring and review processes are used to identify patterns and trends in children’s behaviours, any potential triggers and any developmental needs for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are highly skilled at supporting children to manage their emotions. As a result, restraint is not often used in the home. The manager tracks the levels of restraints used to support them to identify any concerns. The manager reflects with staff after all incidents of restraint, supporting staff to identify what they could have done differently. This has been highly successful at reducing recurrence of restraints for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 6 When there have been any practice concerns, these have not been related to the care of children. However, the manager has taken immediate, decisive and effective action to reinforce expectations and ensure that the home environment remains a safe and supportive environment for all staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager recognises the benefits of a stable staff team in being able to build lasting relationships with children. The manager works exceptionally hard to support the wellbeing of staff. Staff say that they are well supported to deliver the best possible care to children. All staff receive regular, good-quality reflective practice supervision. Supervisions and team meetings are child focused and have a strong emphasis on supporting children in line with the home’s therapeutic ethos. Team meetings are used to carefully plan children’s care and reflect on the progress that they have made. As a result, children benefit from highly consistent care from staff who know them exceptionally well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager maintains oversight of staff training, and an action plan is in place to support one member of staff who is significantly out of timescale for achieving the relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations have been made following this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Rectory, Old Rectory Road, Brumstead, Norwich NR12 9EU

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Inspector

Andrea Bounden, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 8 and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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